Decatur seeks 200 skilled workers as industrial growth continues

There’s a big push that’s launched in Decatur to recruit several hundred skilled workers to the city as soon as possible.

Contractors are looking to expand their operations by hiring at least 200 tradesmen due to the demand of the local economy.

The mayor revealed what’s being done to draw potential transfers to north Alabama and what part of the country they’re targeting.

Decatur is fortunate to have a large industrial base, including the chemical industry and other manufacturing companies.

“We manufacture refrigerators, steel. We have the chemical processing facilities, where we’re a large producer of carbon fiber,” said Mayor Tab Bowling. “Last year, Decatur experienced over half a billion dollars in industrial growth and expansions. With that, we have a big demand for skilled trades in our area. We need to recruit 200 to our community today.”

According to the mayor, companies rely on local contractors for maintenance, and other projects. When Decatur officials look across the country, they see one area in particular where they want focus their recruitment efforts.

“From the Louisiana area all the way over to Galveston, we can see that there’s a high concentration of chemical industries there. I believe that we can do targeted recruiting in the area showing the Decatur market to be a wonderful place for these tradesmen to make their homes,” Bowling said.

Decatur’s recruitment plan is not only designed to help industry and contractors, but it’s also designed to help boost residential growth and revenue growth.

The city has a low cost way of starting things out and that’s online, using Facebook.

“You can use Facebook to promote our community and target it to those areas,” Bowling said. “We have the fourth lowest housing cost in the country. We have the lowest utility rates in the state Alabama. You’re bound to have 200 that would like to look at someplace new like Decatur to make their home.”

“These aren’t temporary jobs. They’re careers and they’re well-paying jobs. It’s going to make for a great way for a family to be able to enjoy life here in North Alabama," he said.